First Published in 1993. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First Published in 1993. The present volume covers the currently identified Christian visions of heaven and hell (excluding D ante’s Divine Comedy) from western Europe during the Middle Ages from the late sixth through the fourteenth century.

Medieval attempts to capture a glimpse of heaven range from the ethereal to the mundane, utilizing media as diverse as maps, cathedrals, songs, treatises, poems, visions and sewer systems. Heaven was at once the goal of the individual Christian life and the end of the cosmic plan. It was, simply stated, perfection. But interpretations varied from the traditional to the dangerously unique as artists and authors, theologians and visionaries struggled to define that perfection. Depending on the source, heaven's attributes vary from height to depth, darkness to light, silence to symphony; the souls within it from activity to passivity, experience to essence, participation to distant admiration. Questions addressed in this anthology include: Are erotic and spiritual love mutually exclusive? Does the soul's happiness depend on the resurrection of the body? What will be the nature of the transfigured body? Will it retain its gender? Will it have senses? Will it know desire? How can desire and fulfillment exist together? Can the human soul ever know God? Contributors to this volume examine well-known and previously unexplored texts and artefacts from historical and art historical, theological, philosophical, and literary perspectives, to complement and challenge more general surveys of the history of heaven, and above all to illuminate the richness and variety of medieval Christian ideas on heaven.

In heaven we shall know everlasting rest and the full measure of our inheritance. Though no eye has seen what God has prepared for us, from Revelation 21-22 we can understand a little of what heaven will feel like. We shall know a new freedom, economy, purity, peace, and so much more. Those will be the simple experiences. The greater experiences will be in everlasting love, most especially in an everlasting marriage and an enduring intimate community. Likewise, we shall know a growing and everlasting security within our grand heritage within God’s promises and in the work of Christ. Yet the greatest experience of all is also the hardest to understand, because it is the farthest removed from our earthly experience. The greatest experience of all will be that—for the rest of our everlasting loving lives—we will share in the very life and glory of our dynamic and loving God, our loving Father and Abba. The greatest experience in heaven will be the very life and light that we share with God Himself, so very personal and loving to the uttermost.

Maness asks us to tie up our sneakers, for we are going to have some fun as we hike into the Grand Canyon of Love. Love is the treasure of life. It is Love all the way. Nothing else really matters outside of Love. Best of all, our Love will only get better in heaven. The treasured ability to have loving relationships is Gods gift to us in our Imago Deithe image of God we all share. Likewise, what we know of Love this side of heaven is but a dusty image of what God experiences. I want to get personally involved, says Maness. Can we have a free-will relationship with anyone, even God, if all of what we do and think is settled? I dont think so. Love is greater than that, and I shall prove that, and that is indeed a Grand Canyon. Manes brings some of the brain-splitting complexities of this to light with good humor, introduces dynamic foreknowledge, and challenges Classical Theisms avoidance of Love. And he exposes some foul play in the process. Thats the first half of the book. For those wanting to strike out on their own (wanting to see more of the depth and diversity of the Grand Canyon), the second half contains reviews of about 60 major authors, a 4,000+ Abysmal Bibliography, and a huge index to just about everything in the book. Maness has thrown a gauntlet before the Classical Theists. So tie up your sneakers and take a hike with Michael G. Maness as he walks with you into the Grand Canyon. see more at www.PreciousHeart.net

The leading academic vehicle for scholarly publication in the field of medieval warfare. Medieval Warfare

With contributions from A.C. Spearing, Peter Meredith and Robin Kirkpatrick, this collection deals with medieval notions of heaven in theological and mystical writings, medieval art, poetry and music.

This book examines the role of angels in medieval and Renaissance art and religion from Dante to the Counter-Reformation.

Old and Middle English literature can be obscure and challenging. So, too, can the vast body of criticism it has elicited. Yet the masters of medieval literature often drew on similar texts, since imitation was admired. For this reason, recent scholarship has often focused on the importance of genre. The genre in which a work was written can illuminate the author's intentions and the text's meaning. Read in light of a genre's parameters, a given work can be considered in relation to other works within the same category. This reference is a comprehensive overview of Old and Middle English literature. Chapters focus on particular genres, such as Allegorical Verse, Balladry, Beast Fable, Chronicle, Debate Poetry, Epic and Heroic, Lyric, Middle English Parody/Burlesque, Religious and Allegorical Verse, and Romance. Expert contributors define the primary characteristics of each genre and discuss relevant literary works. Chapters provide extensive reviews of scholarship and close with detailed bibliographies. A more thorough bibliography of major scholarly studies closes the book.